Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Any parent knows that few things get the blood pumping like the sporting events of one’s children. Many a dispute takes place every year between parents or between a parent and a coach over issues such as kids being too rough, lack of playing time, etc. Unfortunately such disputes often turn physical and one or more of the adults makes a poor decision and ends up facing criminal charges. Such is the case with 43-year-old John Paul Gomoljack who was reportedly arrested on Tuesday for allegedly pushing and striking Heritage Middle School coach Lee Nachand in a dispute over his son’s playing time. At the time of the arrest, Gomoljack was apparently booked under the wrong name and did not notify authorities that the name was incorrect, according to this article. He has been charged with assault.

Continue reading "Man Charged with Assault for Punching Coach" »

It seems schools these days are more dangerous than ever before, with stories of school-related violence constantly finding a place on the news and in the headlines. Such violence comes in many different forms, whether it be by a student or a student’s parent against a teacher, by a teacher against a student or another teacher, or often even by a student against another student. Many states have laws that specifically target school-related violence, and Tennessee is one of them. One specific law Tennessee has enacted with this goal in mind can be found in T.C.A. section 39-13-114 which concerns communicating a threat concerning a school employee.

The above-referenced statute applies to basically any institution that could be considered a “school,” including colleges and universities. It essentially has four elements:

• “ (b) A person commits the offense of communicating a threat concerning a school employee if:
  
  1. The person communicates to another a threat to cause the death of or serious bodily injury to a school employee and the threat is directly related to the employee's scope of employment;
  
  
  2. The threat involves the use of a firearm or other deadly weapon;
  
  
  3. The person to whom the threat is made reasonably believes that the person making the threat intends to carry out the threat; and
  
  
  4. The person making the threat intentionally engages in conduct that constitutes a substantial step in the commission of the threatened act and the threatened act and the substantial step when taken together:
  
  
  • (A) Are corroborative of the person's intent to commit the threatened act; and
  
  
  • (B) Occur close enough in time to evidence an intent and ability to commit the threatened act”

Continue reading "Communicating a Threat Concerning a School Employee" »

Some people are more easily angered than others. Some people seemingly take everything in stride, while others seem to overreact to every twist and turn life throws their way. If you are one of those who are angered a little too easily, driving during the holiday season may not be for you. The general chaos that surrounds parking lots at this time of year can lead to fights and arguments of all sorts as drivers jockey for premium parking spots. One such fight took a painful turn last Sunday as an eighteen year-old woman stabbed a man in the chest with an ice pick outside a Springfield, Missouri restaurant because she felt that the man had taken her parking space. He was taken to the hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening. The personal injury consequences of the woman’s actions are discussed here.

In Tennessee, the woman would likely be charged with aggravated assault. A person can be charged with aggravated assault in Tennessee for a variety of conduct, including any time he or she intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person by using or displaying a deadly weapon. An ice pick would qualify as a deadly weapon, especially when it is in the hands of a self-entitled teenager who takes her parking a little too seriously. Intentional aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the most likely charge that would face the teen in this scenario, is a Class C felony, punishable by up to fifteen years and a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars. This is a harsh price to pay as a result of missing out on a good parking spot, especially when parking farther away would only set you back about five minutes or that it would probably cost about fifty bucks at the most to call a taxi that will drop you off right at the front door.

Source: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091221/NEWS01/912210340/1007/Man-stabbed-by-ice-pick-in-beef-over-parking-spot

If you have driven a motor vehicle for very long, you have undoubtedly come across someone like Christopher Tilas of Ocean Township, New Jersey. Mr. Tilas, like many drivers, is apparently far too busy to drive behind your car at the speed of your choosing and will attempt to pass you anytime, anywhere. If unable to complete the pass in a quick and efficient manner, the driver will become frustrated and will usually begin to tailgate you and express their displeasure in a less-than-appropriate manner. Unfortunately for Mr. Tilas, the manner he chose in which to express his displeasure with the slow driver in front of him was not only inappropriate but was also illegal.

Mr. Tilas allegedly pulled up beside the lady in front of him, who he had been unable to pass, and threatened her with a knife. He then pulled up beside her again but retreated when he noticed she was on the phone talking to someone. Unfortunately for him, that someone was the police. After the phone call was made, an officer later spotted Tilas and pulled him over. After a knife was found in his car, Mr. Tilas was arrested. He has been charged with aggravated assault and two weapons offenses.

Continue reading "Impatient Driver Charged with Aggravated Assault" »

A Milwaukee teacher is looking at a disorderly conduct charge after she cut off one of her student’s braids because the student would not stop playing with it in class. Apparently the teacher asked the student to stop playing with her hair and when the student did not stop doing so, the teacher used a pair of classroom scissors to cut off the hair. The teacher told the girl’s angry mother that she did it because she was frustrated. After the teacher cut off the hair, the girl apparently returned to her desk crying while the other students laughed at her and ridiculed her. The mother, naturally, was incensed at the teacher’s conduct and confronted the teacher and the school system about the teacher’s actions. Thus far, the teacher has been allowed to remain on staff, but the girl has been moved to a different classroom. The district attorney declined to file more serious charges, but the police issued the teacher a $175 ticket for disorderly conduct.

In Tennessee, the teacher could definitely be charged with disorderly conduct but could also be charged with assault. Disorderly conduct is chargeable any time a person creates, with the intent to cause public annoyance and alarm, a hazardous or physically offensive condition that serves no legitimate purpose. Clearly, the teacher’s act of cutting off the girl’s braid would be considered physically offensive and venting one’s frustrations is not usually a legitimate purpose. Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to thirty days in jail and a fifty dollar fine in Tennessee.

Continue reading "Teacher Cuts off Girl's Braid in Front of Classroom" »

Fifty-three year-old Elsie Egan of Marion County, Florida is particular about her menu. So particular, in fact, that she used a raw steak to beat some sense into her long-time boyfriend Peter on Tuesday for disagreeing about what type of bread the couple would have at dinner. Elsie wanted Peter to eat sliced bread, while Peter wanted rolls. He should have just settled for the sliced bread. Apparently the disagreement became heated and Elsie began hitting Peter on top of the head with an uncooked medium-sized steak. Egan denies wielding the deadly steak but does admit to slapping Peter several times so that he could learn the error of his ways. She is facing felony domestic abuse charges.

For purposes of classifying this conduct in Tennessee, it would be necessary to determine if a steak was considered a deadly weapon. Domestic abuse is punished equivalent to assault in Tennessee and assault with a deadly weapon is classified as aggravated assault. Red meat, while linked to heart disease and various other maladies, may not be the type of deadly weapon contemplated by the Tennessee statute, but it is debatable. The definition of deadly weapon in Tennessee includes “[a]nything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury,” which technically means that if you used a steak to beat someone to death it might be considered a deadly weapon. That seems to be the way it was interpreted by the Florida authorities which led to the felony domestic abuse charges against Ms. Egan.

Continue reading "Woman Assaults Boyfriend With Uncooked Steak" »

Everyone is familiar with the old adage that there is nothing like a mother’s love, and it has proven to be true time and time again. An East Tennessee policeman found that out the hard way when his attempt at arresting the thirty-nine year old man from Andersonville, Tennessee resulted in the mother of the arrested individual catching him flush in the face with a haymaker. The policeman said that the mother followed him from her home in Andersonville to the jail in Clinton and demanded her son be released, a tactic that one would have to assume has about a zero percent success rate. When the officer refused to hand over her baby boy, the lady channeled her inner Ali and socked the cop right in the kisser. She is facing numerous charges including assault.

The law provides that a person commits assault in Tennessee who:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;


2. Intentionally or knowingly causes another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury; or


3. Intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative.

Continue reading "Mother Arrested for Assaulting Police Officer" »

If you have ever been to New York, you know that it seems like there are literally ten thousand people in each subway car, all struggling for a place to sit or a rail to hold on to for balance. Fighting for these prime positions on the subway can often result in contentious disputes that lead to violence. In the case of Gerardo Sanchez, a 37 year-old man from New York, a subway seat dispute led to murder. Apparently Sanchez got into a dispute over a seat with another passenger that resulted in Sanchez stabbing the man in the head and neck several times, eventually killing the victim. A train conductor alerted the authorities, and Sanchez was arrested when the train made its next stop. He was charged with murder and criminal possession of a deadly weapon.

In Tennessee, Mr. Sanchez would likely be charged with second-degree murder. A “knowing killing of another” is sufficient to qualify as second-degree murder under the Tennessee statute, which basically means that any time a person kills another person intentionally, they can be charged under the second-degree murder statute. It is possible that since Mr. Sanchez was obviously enraged by the victim taking his seat that he could be charged with the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which is the intentional or knowing killing of another person while “in a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner.”

Continue reading "New York Man Killed Over Subway Seat" »

In modern society, debates rage about which methods of discipline are appropriate for parents to use with their children. Most of the debate is focused on the ethics of spanking versus non-physical means of punishment and proponents of both sides differ as to what is acceptable and what amounts to going too far. In an effort to define with greater clarity what does indeed “go too far,” an Iraqi immigrant father living in Arizona recently ran his daughter over with the family car because he felt she was becoming too Americanized. The dad was apparently upset that the daughter was not living in comport with traditional Iraqi values and thus ran her over with the belief that she had caused the family too much dishonor to be allowed to live. He was later arrested at the Atlanta airport, but there is no word yet on what charges he will face. As of the writing of this article, the daughter remains hospitalized.

In Tennessee, the father would be looking at a litany of charges, most notably some sort of attempted murder charge (assuming the victim does not die from the injuries) depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident and the father’s mental state. Criminal attempt is an “inchoate offense,” which basically means that the person charged is accused of acting with the intent to commit the offense or attempting to commit the offense but did not actually follow through with the commission of the offense in such a manner that the offense attempted can be charged. For example, the father in this case allegedly attempted to kill his daughter by running over her with his vehicle and took steps to accomplish that goal. If the father’s plan would have been successful, he would have been guilty of murder. However, if the daughter does not die as a result of the attack, one of the necessary elements of a murder charge, a “killing,” is absent under the circumstances. Thus, the father can only be charged with attempted murder.

Continue reading "Dad Runs Daughter Over with Car as Punishment: Criminal Attempt" »

The concept of the plea bargain is one that is at the forefront of criminal law today. Inherent in plea bargaining is the concept of negotiation, and, like in any negotiation, the concept of leverage is critical to the plea bargaining process. Leverage in plea bargaining can take many forms, but as this example will show, a major source for defense lawyers is a pitiable client.

An 85 year-old man from Clarksville, TN was recently charged with raping a mentally disabled victim who was between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Despite the fact that an eyewitness saw the man inappropriately touching the girl and that some believe the victim could have testified to the rape in Tennessee, the district attorney’s office offered the man a best interest plea to sexual battery, which he accepted. He was thus sentenced to a total of five years probation. The district attorney’s office cited a lack of evidence and the victim’s physical condition as reasons for the offer.

The circumstances of the case would seem to indicate that the offender’s physical condition and advanced age played a much greater role in the offer than the lack of evidence. Robert Nash, the assistant district attorney was quoted as saying "He's an 85-year-old man with serious heart troubles […] [W]e couldn't prove the rape allegations. We just couldn't do it." Nash also said the victim’s disability might have presented problems with testimony. However, Tennessee Rule of Evidence 601 provides that every person is presumed competent to be a witness unless otherwise provided by law, and there is no rule or law that would have prevented the victim in this case from testifying as a competent witness. The Clarksville Police Detective who investigated the incident took a different view, saying "I completely disagree that the evidence could not have been proven, […] I feel as though the eyewitness would've supported the evidence." The evidence certainly seemed adequate to proceed with the case given that the victim and an eyewitness could testify to the alleged behavior, and it is telling that Nash qualified his explanation of the inability to prosecute the case by referring first to the victim’s physical condition.

Continue reading "Using Age as Leverage" »

When preparing to meet a long-lost biological parent for the first time, a child who was previously given up for adoption would presumably try to prepare themselves for all of the possible outcomes of the meeting. The reunion could be a joyous one where the child and the parent reconnect and begin making up for lost time. The reunion could also be an awkward one, where the two discover that they lack any sort of personal connection whatsoever. Or, as a child in Michigan recently experienced, the reunion could be part of a bizarre scheme by the parent to seduce and rape their own biological child.

Michigan police say a thirty-five year-old mother who gave her son up for adoption more than a decade ago recently used the internet to track him down, seduce him, and rape him. She has been arraigned on three charges of criminal sexual conduct for raping her biological son, who is only ten years-old. The mother maintains her innocence and is currently awaiting trial. Mental health experts consulted for comment about the case described the conduct as “an abomination” and voiced their concerns that the repercussions of the conduct may have long-lasting effects on the minor child.

Under Tennessee law, the mother could be faced with a litany of charges, the most serious being rape of a child under T.C.A. section 39-13-522. Rape of a child is defined as “unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is more than three (3) years of age but less than thirteen (13) years of age.

Continue reading "Mother Tracks Down, Rapes Son" »

Two mothers were recently arrested in New York for entering a written agreement to allow one mother’s thirteen year-old daughter to be romantically involved with the other mother’s nineteen year-old son. The purpose of the pact was to avoid statutory rape charges in the event that the girl became pregnant. While the mothers probably thought this was an effective way to facilitate such a relationship, the State of New York did not agree, and the two mothers were arrested and charged with child endangerment. Likewise, the nineteen year-old male was arrested and charged with several counts, including second-degree rape. Clearly, New York law does not allow either the consent of the victim or the victim’s guardian to legalize what would otherwise be an illegal relationship.

Tennessee law takes an identical stance with regard to issues of consent to statutory rape. The Tennessee statutory rape statute, T.C.A. section 39-13-506, only considers three factors in defining and classifying statutory rape (whether sexual penetration occurred, the age of the victim, and the age of the offender in relation to the age of the victim) and consent is markedly absent. This statute demonstrates that the clear public policy of the State of Tennessee is to protect minors who may be more easily influenced or may not understand the ramifications of their sexual conduct from abuse at the hands of those who may seek to exploit them.

Tennessee recognizes that a four or five year age difference can be significant in terms of mental and emotional maturity among adolescents, opening up the possibility that the older person in a relationship may be ready to engage in and cope with conduct in which their younger partner is not ready to participate. Given this focus placed on the potential immaturity of the victim, Tennessee has chosen not to consider that the victim may consent to the behavior as such consent could also be borne out of the same mentality.

Continue reading "Statutory Rape: Issues of Consent" »

By way of introduction, I discuss in this entry the General Assembly’s express purposes in enacting the Criminal Sentencing Reform Act.

The Reform Act is the end result of comprehensive penal and sentencing reform legislation enacted in 1989 to address inconsistencies found in the penal code. Addressing these inconsistencies, the General Assembly set standards for crime classification and sentencing methodology. Principles underlying this unifying approach were also codified (or re-codified) in TCA 40-35-102 to ensure fairness and justice in sentencing procedures. Five principles are discussed below:

First, every defendant is to be punished by a sentence he or she justly deserves in relation to the seriousness of the offense. As will be seen, violent crimes like homicide and aggravated assault generally carry more severe consequences than other crimes. Furthermore, the seriousness of theft and vandalism offenses depends on the value of the property stolen or destroyed.

Second, defendants are assured fair and consistent treatment by eliminating unjustified disparities in sentencing and by providing a fair sense of predictability. In pursuit of this goal, the legislature examined the crimes in Tennessee and ranked them according to the perceived seriousness of each defense. The General Assembly created 5 classes of felonies (A through E) with each class carrying a defined prison and fine range. For example, the prison range for a Class E felony is one to 6 years, whereas the prison range for a Class A felony is 15 to 60 years. The General Assembly also created 3 separate ranges for misdemeanors.

Third, the goal of punishment is to prevent crime and promote respect for the law. Accordingly, sentences should provide an effective deterrent to those who are likely to violate the law, restrain defendants with lengthy criminal histories, encourage rehabilitation through alternative sentencing and correctional programs, and encouraging restitution to victims where appropriate.

Continue reading "Criminal Sentencing in Tennessee: Purposes of the Reform Act" »

In the paper this week was an article about how a younger brother intervened in an altercation between his older brother and mother resulting in a fatal stabbing of the older child. While the younger child could be charged with a homicide offense, the case brings to mind the defense of third persons defense recognized under Tennessee law.

Under T.C.A. 39-11-612, a person is justified in threatening or using force against another to protect a third person, if under the circumstances as the person reasonably believes them to be, the person would be justified in threatening or using force to protect against the use or attempted use of unlawful force reasonably believed to be threatening the third person sought to be protected. A person is justified if the person has reasonable belief that there is imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to the third person, the danger creating the belief of imminent death or serious bodily injury is real or honestly believed to be real at the time, and the belief of danger is founded upon reasonable grounds.

Continue reading "Defense of Others Under Tennessee Law" »

Every year a news story hits the national airwaves about a person who unlawfully enters school premises to commit a crime. Sometimes the crime committed is sexual assault and, at other times, the crime is distribution of controlled substances.

Just this year, Jackson, Michigan, made national news after a man unlawfully entered onto the school grounds of a local middle school and allegedly attempted to sexually assault a female student. Based on video surveillance footage, a 27-year old male waited at the locked entrance to the school’s music room, waited until someone opened the door, entered, walked directly into a female restroom, and accosted the female victim. The man was charged with assault with intent to commit sexual penetration and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

In Tennessee, under TCA 49-6-2008, the alleged perpetrator could also be charged with unlawful entrance upon school premises. The language of the statute reads: “[i]n order to maintain the conditions and atmosphere suitable for learning, no person shall enter onto school buses, or during school hours, enter upon the grounds or into the buildings of any school, except students assigned to that bus or school, the staff of the school, parents of students, and other persons with lawful and valid business on the bus or school premises.”

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According to the Knoxville Police Department, there were 109 home invasion robberies last year within the Knoxville city limits. There have already been 60 home-invasion robberies since January of this year.

The KPD insists that these numbers don’t mean that there is an epidemic of violent robberies in Knoxville. A spokesman for the KPD indicated that, since 2003, only 3 people have died and “several others” have been injured during the course of a home invasion.

He also indicated that most home invasions are usually fueled by the illegal drug trade. “In nearly every single incident, the facts of the investigation have indicated that there had been some kind of prior [illicit] business dealing between the suspects and the victims, or that it was family related. It’s very rare to have a complete stranger home invasion.”

Nevertheless, homeowners and tenants in Tennessee generally have the right to defend themselves against home invaders.

Under Tennessee law, a person can use deadly force to protect against someone who unlawfully and forcibly enters his or her home, without having the duty to retreat, if he or she has a reasonable belief that there is imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. (The danger creating the belief of imminent bodily injury must also be real or honestly believed to be real at the time of the invasion, and the belief of danger must be founded upon reasonable grounds.)

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Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor in the state of Tennessee and is a kind of “catch-all” charge for minor offenses involving some kind of alleged unruly or upsetting behavior that provokes a disturbance.

All too often, disorderly conduct stems from a police officer giving someone a hard time until they lose control. Indeed, this is the exact allegation of colleagues of Henry Louis Gates Jr. who was arrested for disorderly conduct in his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after a neighbor reported seeing Mr. Gates breaking into his own home. Reportedly, Mr. Gates believed he was shocked when police continued to question him after he showed them his Harvard faculty ID. According to the police, Mr. Gates got angry, followed them out of the house, and accused them of being racists. According to some views of the incident, the police officers acted in retaliation by arresting Mr. Gates for disorderly conduct.

Examples of disorderly conduct in Tennessee include:

• Fighting,


• Violent or threatening behavior,


• Refusal to obey official order during an emergency situation,


• Creating a hazard (e.g., obstructing traffic), or


• Creating an offensive condition (e.g., using extremely offensive or abusive language targeted at a police officer).

As you can see, a wide range of behaviors can fall under the rubric of disorderly conduct. Likewise, many have been arrested without legitimate reason or without proper cause.

Continue reading "Disorderly Conduct in Tennessee" »

Tennessee classifies crimes in one of two categories: misdemeanor and felony. For both of these categories, the state must prove that the suspect committed an unlawful act with criminal intent. For example, first degree murder in Tennessee is a felony and is characterized as the premeditated and intentional killing of another. The unlawful act is the “killing of another”. The criminal intent element is doing the act with premeditation and with intent to kill.

Likewise, the unlawful act in an assault crime—a misdemeanor—is the defendant’s causing of another to fear bodily injury. The intent element is satisfied when the state proves that the defendant acted with the intent to cause the defendant to fear harm.

Felony, however, is distinguishable from misdemeanor based on the penalty ranges assigned. Penalties for felonies range from one year to 60 years. Penalties for misdemeanors range from one day to 364 days. On the other hand, conduct punishable only by fine is not considered a crime but rather is classified as an infraction or violation.

Continue reading "Felony Versus Misdemeanor in Tennessee" »